engine temp - too hot

The 4.0 started running a little hot, 240 degrees at idle, but was fine at speed. I read through posts on this site an have concluded it's the fan clutch, so I bought an oem from newmoparparts.com and it's on its way.

In the meantime I continued to drive the jeep. Then it started getting really hot and pegged at 260+. I pulled over, lifted the hood, steam and fluid was expelling from a 4 way connector that's located real close to the transmission dip stick. I wonder what that part is? I let the engine cool, and noticed the coolant resivour was low, so I filled it and thought all would be well. But, on the way home it pegged again. I'm not driving it now until I replace the fan clutch.

My questions...do you think any sort of significant damage could of been done? Do I need to perform any kind of maintenance since it's over heated now twice, like change the oil?

thanks,

tim

It is possible you could have cracked the head, or blown the head gasket, It should be ok, just after you fix it check the oil and see if there is water in it, and make sure there is no white smoke from the exhaust. Oh, the valve train could have been bent, but a quick pull of the valve cover(if there is any noise) should answer that question. I would personally change my oil afterwards, but probably not necessary.

tdr1213 said:

steam and fluid was expelling from a 4 way connector that's located real close to the transmission dip stick. I wonder what that part is?

Click to expand...

Heater Valve.

Rev